Wanderlove

by Kirsten Hubbard

It all begins with a stupid question:

Are you a Global Vagabond?

No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path.

Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they've got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s found, is to keep moving forward.

But Bria comes to realize she can't run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back.

Kirsten Hubbard lends her artistry to this ultimate backpacker novel, weaving her drawings into the text. Her career as a travel writer and her experiences as a real-life vagabond backpacking Central America are deeply seeded in this inspiring story.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Travel, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Adventure

338 pages, Hardcover

First published March 13, 2012

About the author

In search of transcendent backdrops for her novels, Kirsten Hubbard has hiked ancient ruins in Cambodia, dived with wild dolphins in Belize (one totally looked her in the eye), slept in a Slovenian jail cell, and navigated numerous desert apocalypses (her cult is satirical, she swears). But she always comes home to California.

Kirsten is the author of the young adult novels LIKE MANDARIN and WANDERLOVE (Delacorte Press/Random House Children's Books); the middle-grade novels WATCH THE SKY and RACE THE NIGHT (Disney-Hyperion); and co-author of the SECRETS OF TOPSEA series as Kir Fox. She is also author of the picture book DEAR STRAY (Nancy Paulsen/Penguin).

Reviews

[Kirsten Hubbard]

I wrote this book! And drew the pictures.
I think this one sums up the story best:

I hope it brings you a little bit of travel transcendence.

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

it is with a heavy heart that i must say...i'm dropping this rating to a 4 upon reread

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if there's a better mid-pandemic comfort reread than this, a romance that takes place while the protagonist backpacks through Central America, idk what it is

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ORIGINAL REVIEW
4.99999/5

Instant regret on saying I’ll write a full review of this book. Because I really don’t know if I can. I don’t even know if I can rate it!

https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.co...

First, I want to say it’s unfair how much I love this book. It should be undeniably dumb, right? Look at the COVER. It’s awful. Even the synopsis is pretty cringey. And it’s YA contemporary, and I’ve absolutely given up on that genre for the moment because I can’t deal with the constant disappointment.



And yet here we are. Stuck between 4 and 5 stars. An impressive showing from the underdog!

Well, not really. I knew I was going to like this book - that’s why I reread it. In anticipation of the fact that I’m leaving for Vietnam tomorrow. Isn’t that bananas?! I can hardly believe it!



Anyway. (Can you tell I’m putting off writing this?) I have been wanting to reread this book for at least 7 months, but I keep putting it off because I seem to be cursed to hate everything I want to love. And I reallyreallyreally didn’t want to hate this book.

But then - miracle of all miracles - I didn’t hate it at all! In fact, I loved it! Way, way more than I expected to!



But then...I rolled past the 250 page mark. And things took a turn for the worse. (Am I cursed? Like, actually? Is that a thing?)

But let’s start with the good stuff! I am absolutely enamored with any book that centers on travel. Give me road trips, give me backpackers, hell, give me tour groups through Europe’s biggest clichés. Actually, don’t give me the last one. The last one sounds boring. I’m looking at you, Wanderlost.



ANYWAY. Travel books aren’t always well done, though. I want visceral descriptions. I want to feel like I’m there, and like I want to really go. I want to feel, at the end, like I’ve been bitten by the travel bug. This book definitely, one hundred percent accomplished that. I think I’ll have to give it 5 stars because of it. That’s what matters to me.

So much about this book is just cool. The characters backpack, which is different from the usual YA travel-centered book. It takes place in Central America, which is VERY different from that usual.



It’d be easy for this book to fall into some problematic-ness, but for the most part, it avoids that. Deftly. There are some stumbles early on with what could be perceived as a condescending look at life in other countries, but it’s solved by character development and addressed directly.

Plus, there’s the fact that white Americans carrying a backpack full of their privilege through developing countries is often considered problematic in and of itself. The main character discusses this, and ultimately the other characters provide what I see as an apt argument against it.



Also, another really important thing: Rowan is my boyfriend. I’m calling dibs on him right now. (Benefits of reading a fairly underrated contemporary.) Yes, he has a ponytail, which is not ideal, but EVERYTHING ELSE about him is great. Nice, pretty funny, allegedly good-looking, and KNOWS HOW TO BACKPACK THROUGH CENTRAL AMERICA. It’s the dream, my friends.



But now...the bad. It’s the last 50-75 pages or so. What had been, in my opinion, a travel-centered book with some classic romantic tension and drama thrown in suddenly...switches. We lose most of those gorgeous descriptions in favor of Bria pining over Rowan. Which, like, I get it. Same. But can we take it down a notch?

And then it all gets worse with the ending. After knowing her for like, what, two weeks? Rowan decides to move to California with Bria. And stop backpacking! I don’t like that at all. What had been a great book about travel ends up...any other contemporary.



But the huge huge huge amount of love I have for the first 250 pages - well, actually the middle 200 - will overcome all of that. This book is so great. You feel like you’re there. I spent the whole night reading backpackers’ blogs after I finished this, even though I had a paper due in the morning. (I turned that paper in, by the way. It’s abysmal. I’m trying not to think about it.)

Bottom line: This book is criminally underrated and you should all read it. I love it.

[Steph Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Con­tem­po­rary is not a genre I usu­ally read. It’s not because I think any less of the genre, but few seem to hold my atten­tion as well as some­thing super­nat­ural or sci­ence fic­tion related. What nor­mally hap­pens is that I’ll get dis­tracted and find myself re-reading the same sen­tence or para­graph over and over again. That never hap­pened with Wanderlove. Unfor­tu­nately, lately I’ve been find­ing it increas­ingly dif­fi­cult for me to find time through­out my day to sit and read. And I felt myself get­ting angry for not hav­ing more time to fin­ish this book. But, in a way I’m kind of happy I read it as slowly as I did because I savored every minute alone with Wan­derlove.  This book was so amaz­ing, so deep, so beau­ti­ful and I’m very happy I stepped out­side of my com­fort box to read it.

Wan­derlove tells the story of Bria San­doval, an 18-year-old, newly grad­u­ated, high school stu­dent, as she trav­els to Cen­tral Amer­ica. At first we aren’t told why she decided to take this trip, but what is clear is that she has given up her art and despite her friends back­ing out of the planned trip at the last minute, she decides to go alone. It isn’t until  she begins jour­ney­ing with back­pack­ers Rowan and Star­ling that we are privy to Bria’s lay­ers. It is then that we, and Bria her­self, dis­cover how truly bro­ken she is. This book cov­ers a myr­iad of top­ics such as emo­tional abu­sive rela­tion­ships, let­ting go of the past, for­giv­ing your­self, gain­ing self-confidence, but ulti­mately, self-discovery.

The Set­ting and the Plot:
I’m not in any shape or form a travel savvy per­son. In fact, the clos­est I’ve ever come to leav­ing the coun­try was a fam­ily vaca­tion where we drove to Canada’s Nia­gara Falls in an RV.  I’ve thought about trav­el­ing to dif­fer­ent coun­tries, but I often run into to same prob­lem: How will I get there? Going any­where would require either a plane ride or trav­el­ing on a boat. Con­sid­er­ing my first expe­ri­ence with a plane involved watch­ing a light­ning storm over the Chesa­peake Bay, I’m not exactly rush­ing to my air­port. Yet, when I think of sail­ing on a boat I can’t help but to think of this:


*Gives reader a mean­ing­ful look* And we all know what hap­pened after that scene…

I think it’s safe to say I’m no Global Vagabond. Regard­less of my unre­al­is­tic travel fears, I love hear­ing travel sto­ries. Kirsten Hubbard’s care­ful descrip­tions of Cen­tral Amer­ica were vivid, easy to visu­al­ize and allowed me the abil­ity to live vic­ar­i­ously through Bria. I could pic­ture the Mayan cul­ture, the jun­gle, the heat, the rides on the chicken buses, and the bluest waters. From the moment Bria stepped off her plane I could pic­ture it all.

I really loved how the set­ting went hand in hand with the plot. When Bria first arrives in Cen­tral Amer­ica, she is imme­di­ately dis­ap­pointed in her tour group. Every­thing is planned out for her from the group’s activ­i­ties to the food they eat. Once an oppor­tu­nity to ditch them arises, at first she is appre­hen­sive, but she wants to prove her­self to all her  doubters back at home that she can do this. Each new loca­tion she vis­its brings back flash­backs from her past describ­ing her rea­sons for giv­ing up her art and going on this trip.  I didn’t real­ize how engrossed I was with the story until the cli­max hit and I felt my heart miss a beat.  It was eas­ily the best scene for me because it made me incred­i­bly happy and then immensely sad shortly after. Those two extreme emo­tions back to back nearly did me in. I hope Hub­bard is happy… secretly I think that was all a part of her plan. Well done!

The Char­ac­ters:
The true treat for the reader lies with the beau­ti­ful draw­ings found scat­tered through­out the story all drawn by Hub­bard her­self. It was inter­est­ing because not only does the reader see Bria’s char­ac­ter growth through her nar­ra­tion and actions, but also through her art. At first, they start off very delicate-like as Bria begins the jour­ney. But, as the trip wears on, you can see the art chang­ing, evolv­ing into more com­plex draw­ings with more time spent on shad­ow­ing tech­niques and other details. Bria goes from uncer­tain to a con­fi­dent renewed per­son by the end of the novel. You can’t help but to feel sorry for. Yet, at the end I felt proud of her. She’s the type of char­ac­ter you want young girls to read about and learn from.

Rowan, the love inter­est, too was a lost bro­ken char­ac­ter. Through­out most of the novel he retains his phi­los­o­phy of Wan­derlove, which basi­cally entailed run­ning from your past. And Rowan def­i­nitely has a darker past he con­stantly tries to avoid. There was a cer­tain sweet­ness to watch­ing Rowan and Bria’s friend­ship blos­som. Hub­bard took her time devel­op­ing it. There was noth­ing rushed about their rela­tion­ship because as they fall for one another, they healed each other as well.

Star­ling was an inter­est­ing char­ac­ter.  Though she leaves Rowen and Bria early on in the story, she main­tains a cer­tain pres­ence too. I can’t really talk too much about her char­ac­ter with­out giv­ing away spoil­ers, but she was a crafty one.

The end­ing:
The end­ing was so very fit­ting. I love how things are tied up, yet remains open at the same time. One thing you are sure of is that Bria has emerged a new per­son ready to move for­ward with her life and finally shed her­self of past issues. I was sad when it ended and I have a pretty good feel­ing I’ll be revis­it­ing this book soon again.

Between the witty writ­ing, beau­ti­ful illus­tra­tions, and deep mes­sages, Wan­derlove is not to be missed in 2012.

ARC was pro­vided by the pub­lisher via Net­Gal­ley. No money or mer­chan­dise was exchanged for this review. Kirsten Hub­bard is a GoodReads friend of mine, but you can count on these being my absolute, hon­est views of the book!

More reviews and more at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.

[Limonessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

If right now, at age 35, I had to choose my nostalgia book of all times, I'd choose Wanderlove.
It was almost physically painful to read.
A forewarning though: if you are not the adventurous type, are not and never were interested in traveling with a backpack, but on the contrary think it's highly dangerous and unhygienic and are not interested in the nuances of this bohemian life, this might not be the book for you.

Bria Sandoval has just turned 18. It's the summer between her graduation and her college entry.
Only, there is no college. She has applied at the renowned Art School in California but, for some reason she is not going. Because you see, Bria is an artist who's lost the passion to draw. To make things even worse, she's just been dumped by her (artist) boyfriend, Toby.
In an attempt to snap out of this impasse, Bria decides to travel to Guatemala with a tourist group called Global Vagabonds. But once there, she meets Starling and her enigmatic brother Rowan, who convince her to ditch her group and her suitcase and travel with them as a backpacker for the remaining days of her holidays.
On the road from Guatemala to Belize, jumping from a chicken bus to a water taxi, lost in a market or simply lost in translation, Bria is forced to put to the test her confidence, her trust, her talent but most of all she will need face all her issues, free herself of her constrictions and of her past and just live the moment.

The reason why I loved this book is pretty obvious: it took me back in time. The places were not the same but the narration has such an unmistakable taste of reality that I really connected. Clearly, the author is speaking from personal experience, or she wouldn't know about wrapping backpacks with garbage bags, chicken bus rides (my worst one was from Maracaibo, Venezuela to Barranquilla, Colombia) or described a central/south American bus station so accurately. As a consequence of that, I connected well also with the characters, the "traveled" backpackers Starling and Rowan, for whom is valid the saying that "the smaller the backpack, the bigger the ego".
As for the MC, Bria, she is not very likable at the beginning. She comes out as a bit of a whiny, spoiled brat - though she kind of won me over with her "gutter water" Windbreaker - but she grows, she matures in the course of the story and, even though I wanted to kick her and her backpack straight into the Caribbean sea at one point, the dock scene with Rowan? What the heck was that about? Are you mad, girl?I took away half a star star only for that passage she eventually comes to her senses by the end of the book, making her a decent MC and a believable character.

I thought this book was really enjoyable, light but with a bit of depth - even social - and with a touch of exotic that makes it the perfect read for people who are looking for a bit of adventure, love, folklore and a well written story.
Oh, and I loved the illustrations by the author in the book, an added bonus that make this story even more dreamy.

My favorite quote, which is actually a quote within the quote:

" A painting doesn't have to have a profound meaning. It doesn't have to "say" something. We fall in love for simpler reasons."
Harley Brown

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher.

Posted also at The Nocturnal Library.

[Rachel Maniacup · Rating 5 out of 5]

I clearly understand now,why this lovely friend of mine who recommended this book to me,loved this so much! It is a WONDERFUL book!

This is a story of an 18 year old young woman,named Bria Sandoval who just graduated from high school.
Bria is a good artist,who loves to draw of course..but after her jerk ex-boyfriend had broken up with her,she just stopped drawing.She even neglected her artistic ambitions.

Bria,wanted nothing more than to get away for a while..from her friends,from her ex-boyfriend,and from her parents who are constantly fighting,that sometimes she wishes that they just end their marriage.

And this is why she decided to go backpacking in Central America. When she arrived in Guatemala City, She met Starling (a pretty young woman),and her younger half-brother Rowan (a cute,hunk guy in a pony tail). They are young backpackers who love to travel from place to place and they tugged Bria along with them.

As she joins them in their journey,she soon realized that she can travel alone for the first time,meeting new friends,proving that she can do things on her own,enjoying the things she didn't knew she would. And losing her camera in Guatemala City was a blessing in disguise for her after all,'cause she was able to do what she really love most..she began drawing the things that interests her eyes and her heart on her sketchbook,instead of capturing them on her camera that's been lost.

Bria also realized that being with Rowan changes everything for her,especially when she learns that Rowan also share a common matter with her..their need to run away from their old lives,and define themselves as a person.

I admire Kristen Hubbard 'cause she's a great story teller. And with Bria's beautiful illustrations on her sketchbook that were actually shown on this text book,that definitely added more life and a lot of plus points to this book,proved that the author herself,is a very great artist.

And I can't thank you enough Pinky,for introducing this brilliant author to me.^^

So,if you are a travel book, this is the kind of book you should absolutely read!^^

[Reynje · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first glance, Wanderlove appears to be a light piece of escapist travel fiction, treading the well-worn paths of comedic culture shock, adventure and self-discovery common to backpacker lit.

Upon reading, however, it’s evident that Wanderlove is much more than this. It is a resonant and affecting story about healing and uncertainty - about looking backward in order to move forward. It’s about self-worth not being contingent upon the opinions and judgments of others, but rather upon ourselves, and having the courage to embrace the strengths and flaws that make us who we are.

Wanderlove follows the physical and emotional journey of 18 year old Bria Sandoval: from California, doubt, and a damaged relationship with her art, to Central America, self-insight and strength.

It begins with a seemingly innocuous question: Are you a Global Vagabond?, and a disenchanting touchdown complete with middle-aged, Dean Koontz-novel toting, suitcase-wheeling tourists. Hardly the idyllic escape promised in the travel brochure photos. Enter charismatic/enigmatic backpackers Starling and Rowan, the doctrine of wanderlove, and Bria’s travels take a turn from tour bus to chicken bus, from check-box itinerary to spontaneity and chance.

It may be worth mentioning that my enjoyment of Wanderlove was very much tied up in the extent to which I personally related to the story, and to Bria as a character. (After all, I do hail from a country where travel in general, and backpacking specifically, is seen as somewhat of a rite of passage.) Besides simply flavouring my reading experience with a hint of nostalgia though, I felt connected with the story. I was invested in Bria emotionally. I wanted to see her grow and develop, how Hubbard would unwind the tangles of Bria’s complex relationships with her art, her family and friends, even herself.

There is an effortless, smooth quality to Hubbard’s writing, in both the authenticity of Bria’s voice and the beautifully captured descriptions of her travel experiences. The prose is clear and succinct, not overly embellished. Quotes, journal entries and flashbacks are used sparingly here, and don’t weigh down or distract from the narrative. Hubbard’s own travel experiences and writing come to the fore, and her passion for the subject is evident.

While the story is compulsively readable, this is largely a character driven novel. Plot and exotic locations aside, I felt that Hubbard’s strength really lay in her ability to create realistic characters, and to gradually reveal their depth and motivations. What may appear to have begun as backpacker caricatures become multi-dimensional characters with agency. There’s even a little sly subversion of the backpacker-chic stereotype, as Bria’s travels progress and her perspective begins to shift.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the artwork (drawn by the author) that appears throughout Wanderlove. There is a whimsical, hopeful quality to the drawings, and they play well into the book, particularly into Bria’s internal journey and backstory. (I read this as an e-galley, so I’m particularly interested to see the actual hardcopy ‘in the wild’, as I’m sure my kindle screen did not do full justice to the art.)

In addition to Bria’s arc and her relationships with the characters, Wanderlove also lightly touches on the different reasons people travel, and the impacts upon the local population and infrastructure. It’s not a subject deeply delved into, but some interesting insights are offered – particularly in the case of Rowan’s opinions and his personal set of beliefs.

Wanderlove offers more than a simple travel romance, or a series of vivid holiday snapshots. Rather, it examines what it is to recover, to reclaim, and ultimately, to look forward.

A review copy was provided by the publishers via NetGalley

[Nomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeously written and completely authentic (it comes as no surprise to me that Hubbard is a travel writer and backpacker herself) Wanderlove is a book that took me by surprise.

I have to confess, I got off to a rocky start with Wanderlove. From the beginning, I liked the prose (loved the cadence of certain lines). Hubbard writes fantastically, she gets right in under Bria’s skin, perhaps painfully so: Bria felt so inferior, so uncertain, at the beginning and the feeling was so perfectly conveyed that I felt awkward. It made me uneasy, watching her lie to impress, stumbling her way along. Enter Rowan, he had his instant charms, sure, but he irked me as well: that kind of suave confidence that comes from knowing you’re hot, being young and invincible and over-all knowing everything. It also did not sit well with me when Hubbard portrayed middle-aged (often overweight) tourists as inferior, ridiculous and people to be sneered down upon (from the backpackers perspective). Then again, perhaps this is how teens/young adults view regular tourists? It did not endear the backpacking culture to me.

Despite my initial reservations, there was a certain authenticity about the writing that drew me in and I decided to make it to 50% and see if it grew on me. MY GOSH ~ I am so glad I did not abandon this book. In fact, the second half so enthralled me that I ended up staying up past midnight to finish it off and I read the last page with a happy sigh ~ I really, really liked it.

Here’s what I loved (in the end):

The way Hubbard evoked all five senses, casting a kind of spell over the reader so I felt as if I were travelling (it gave me itchy feet)

The way Hubbard showed (expert) restraint in crafting the romantic subplot. It was the perfect amount of sexual tension, ambiguity and genuine connection between Bria and Rowan.

The crafting of the plot: it snuck up on me, all the little threads and foreshadowing which gave it a constant momentum. Even as I could see where many of the character arcs were headed, I was alongside them, hanging out to get there.

The illustrations. GUYS, they are gorgeous, evocative and stunning. It added so much to the experience, I looked forward to each picture. I can still conjure up the pictures even now, in my minds eye. LOVE.

Overall: okay, I know the beginning of my review sounded harsh, but don’t let it put you off reading this book. It is a stand-out of the year and I am so glad Kirsten Hubbard is writing for teens as I feel they will connect so well to her characters. I am really hanging out to see what she writes next. What a talented author, hey :)

First half of the book: it was okay (2.5 stars)
Second half of the book: oh, I loved it (4.5 stars)
Overall, well, I ended up loving it, so it gets 4 stars from me :)

thanks netgalley

[Pinky · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Wanderlove is about forgetting the bad things and focusing on the good. Out with the old and in with the new... The only way to escape the past is to keep moving forward.”

Such a beautiful book and I have been missing out on a lot! And if you haven't read this yet, you are missing out! When I was finished this book, I really wished that there was more, I needed more. It was one of the books that had a perfect ending, but in the end, you want more. Even if there is a perfect ending, you want to see more of the characters.

“Back then I thought Mother Nature split the good guys from the bad guys with a fat black line. But the thing is, in real life, they're often the same guy.”

When Bria decides to join a guiding tour group and explore Central America, she realizes that she immediately hates it. Instead of a group of people who are Bria's age, there are more middle-aged people and they all seem to hate Bria. But then Bria meets two backpackers, a guy with a black ponytail and his older sister. She decides to do something that will change her life and finally find herself.

“The appeal of leaving and never looking back. No endpoint to your journey.
How gloriously terrifying.”

This book was beautifully written and had beautiful illustrations. Whenever Bria would go somewhere else, it felt like I was with her. It just felt so real and so many things in this book was easy to relate to. The plot and the pace of the book was perfect, I don't feel like there were any slow parts, but I think that's just me. I'm glad I picked this book up and it was worth the read.

The characters were another reason I loved this book, they were all realistic. They were always there for each other and it made me feel so good to read it. :) Bria's character development was really nice, it felt like we get to see how she bloomed into being the person she is today. (Okay I know that doesn't make sense but you know what I'm trying to say, right?) Rowan's character development was another thing that made this book more realistic, it wasn't only Bria who had to move on, it was Rowan too. Starling is an amazing friend and I wish I met someone like her, she's so outgoing and crazy!

Anyway, I highly recommend this book to people who like traveling books. This book is so inspirational and I have no doubt that you will love it. You wont stop reading until the very end, (I was forced to stop reading because of homework :( )

“You can't control the past, but you can control where you go next.”

[Keertana · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A painting doesn’t have to have a profound meaning. It doesn’t have to ‘say’ a word. We fall in love for simpler reasons.” ~ Harley Brown

I think to a lot of people, reading is a chore – it’s something you have to do to graduate high school, get your diploma, suffer through college, and eventually use in life. I think to others, reading is a form of entertainment – a funny comedy to give them a good laugh, a serious biography to inform them about a subject they didn’t know, an intriguing encyclopedia filled with facts they could not have found out about any other way. However, I think if you ask any true bibliophile, like myself, we’ll say that yes, reading is an escape into another world – one that isn’t our own; yes, reading textbooks and badly written novels can be a chore; yes, all of that which other readers feel, think, and experience is true. Yet, to us, reading is about connecting with characters, about finding kindred spirits in words and phrases, about learning the lessons life can teach us, and most importantly, about finding small bits and pieces of our souls within the pages of the novels we read like starved children.

Wanderlove is the type of book that makes me so grateful I am a reader. It’s the sort of story that sucks you in, pulls on the strings in your heart, and makes you find yourself within its pages. It makes you connect to its characters, marvel at its exotic setting, learn from its valuable lessons, and most importantly, it makes you feel one with the very soul of the novel itself. I can count on one hand the number of books that have made me feel this way, but perhaps now, I will need two.

Wanderlove is unlike any contemporary romance I’ve read before and frankly speaking, all I feel like doing right now is taking the next flight to Guatemala and re-reading this book the entire plane ride there. I don’t think I can put into words just how much I loved this story, how much it affected me, and how badly I wish I could lose myself in its pages forever. In many ways, I wish this book wasn’t marketed as a contemporary romance novel, because although its love story is earth-shatteringly sweet and slow-to-build in a way wholly unique, this is primarily a novel about moving on from the past, understanding it, and not letting it get in the way of your future.

Eighteen-year-old Bria Sandoval is an artist who has forgotten how to make art. Ever since her break-up with her artistic boyfriend Toby, Bria has been lost, alone, and artless. Her parents are too busy fighting their own wars with each other, her best friends are too tired of her constant moping, choosing instead to give her unhelpful advice and ditch her on their plans to spend the summer in Europe, and all in all, Bria simply needs to get away. Thus, she finds herself sporadically signing up for a trip to Central America on a guided tour through “Global Vagabond.” What she finds upon landing in Guatemala though, is a rag-tag group of middle-age tourists. Bria wants to be a backpacker, exploring the true wilderness and culture of Central America, so when experienced backpacker half-siblings Starling and Rowan offer her a chance to accompany them, she cannot resist. Yet, backpacking through Central America is not as easy as it seems and soon, Bria finds that her honesty, trust, and confidence are all put to the test as she must learn to understand – and forgive – her past and make the most of what today has to offer.

In a very loose manner, Wanderlove is much like many other contemporary novels which seek to expose a journey of life through a road-trip or exploration of a foreign country. Yet, what makes Wanderlove stand out from this plethora of travelling stories is its unique, alluring, and refreshing voice. Bria is one of the few protagonists whose voice I can claim to truly admire and relate to. The narration of her story is honest, humorous, and intelligent, filled with beautiful sketches, memorable diary entries, and quirky lists which are all done to a minimum and only used to further develop Bria’s tale.

One of my favorite aspects of Hubbard’s writing is the fact that Bria’s story unfolds slowly, gently, and in bits and pieces. As the novel progresses, we come to realize the true extent of Bria’s hurt and pain and just what she must do to overcome that. Furthermore, Bria is filled to the brim with flaws – she is petulant, she is afraid, she seems to change her moods at whim, she cannot understand her own feelings, and most of all, she can’t seem to let go of her past. Yet, all these qualities make her a remarkable, respectable, and realistic protagonist. In addition, Bria’s growth throughout the novel is gradual, not only as a person, but also as an artist. I think the most beautiful part of this entire story was seeing Bria find ways to re-connect with her art, her lifeline, her passion. Overall, Bria’s journey is one that is rewarding, fully developed, and not without its flaws, yet it manages to be perfect all the same.

Speaking of perfection, there was little to be found of it within the cast of these characters. Starling and Rowan are an enigmatic and startling duo with their own set of ideals, philosophies, and their own burdens in life. I don’t think I can even begin to brush upon the extent of pain that Rowan carries in his life. Here is a male protagonist who has had a tortured past, who has attempted to move on past it in one of the worst ways, and who is now on the road to redemption. Even before Rowan meets Bria, he has resolved to change the “bad boy” attitude that somehow got him through the past two years of his life. The unraveling of Rowan’s past is one of the greatest mysteries in this book and while it takes its own sweet time and the eventual revelation is startling and shockingly ugly, it only increases the reader’s respect for Rowan and how far he has come as a person. It isn’t an easy task to move on or change your outlook on life and more than that, it isn’t easy to forget the past. Rowan, despite his theories of “wanderlove” and his own unique elements to living life, doesn’t have it all figured out.

Wanderlove isn’t simply Bria’s journey, it is Rowan’s journey too. Although the two of them find much of themselves within each other, they find it alone and by themselves as well. I think it was important how Hubbard made these two develop their relationship from strangers, reluctant acquaintances, and easy friends to something that was even more deep and special. Yet, throughout all this, they manage to retain their independence and their sense of self, all while giving into their confounded feelings for one another. Wanderlove contains within its pages one of the slowest developing love stories of all time, but I loved every minute of it. It was perfect in its own way and I found myself in awe of its beautiful ending which seemed to resolve everything, yet leave even more up for interpretation, imagination, and creativity.

In conclusion, Wanderlove is a story that will stick with me for a long time. Not only is it original in its journey to Central America, but the passion of the author and her own obvious experiences bleed through every page, making this a journey you cannot forget. Furthermore, what I find is more important than the bittersweet love story or the heart-warming characters are the themes and messages that emerge from this story. There aren’t many books that leave you with a feeling that you’ve learned more about life from simply reading them, but Wanderlove does. Not only do I feel more wiser, more spontaneous, and more in love with this story than when I first began this review, I also feel a strange sense of cathartic release. I can only hope that other readers will fall in love with this story as I did and find their own antidotes to wanderlove in the world.

This review and more can be found on my blog, Ivy Book Bindings

[Xandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I knew that “chick lit” tag should have sent me running for the hills! You see, my low rating has nothing to do with the quality of the book, because, truth be told, I’m incapable of judging objectively chick lit or YA books. I usually avoid them like the plague and, when I happen to read one, my (often negative) feelings get in the way and any hint of impartiality is compromised.

Just to give you an idea of what kind of person I am, my favorite moment in the whole book is when this backpacker main character guy, Rowan, plays a prank on some dude looking for booze, weed and easy chicks, and directs him to an uninhabited island. What does this say about me? Maybe that I’m a little evil, for one. Maybe also that I didn’t like Bria and preferred to see her left out and watch other characters interact.

The story is told in first person point of view (sadly, Bria’s pow), which means you’re trapped in her 18-year-old head, among a ton of love thoughts that are bouncing up and down incessantly from the beginning.

All this love crap deflated me pretty fast, but leaving Bria’s wet panties aside, there is something generally annoying about her, something I can’t put my finger on. It might have quite a lot to do with her being needy, whiny and insecure, dull and plain, uptight and lacking charisma. There is absolutely nothing interesting about her! And it’s a girl who travels to Guatemala and Belize we’re talking about here! Bria gives the impression that she’s the kind of person who always plays by the rules, never crosses any lines, the perfect kid who finds herself in Guatemala and tries to cope, without changing much along the way. NO FUN.

I was so sick of Bria’s precious sacred art and of her reluctance to swim because she lost her virginity to her asshole ex-boyfriend on a beach, that in the end I felt exhausted. You know when you travel and you’re always tired? Well, there are two types of “tired”. The pleasant type, when you enjoyed your trip and you can’t wait to wake up in the morning to face new experiences and the “can’t wait to get home” type when rest is a long awaited relief. For me, the book was a mostly bad trip and the ending was a relief.

Not a bad book if you’re a teenager who thinks butterflies are cute.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original post at One More Page

I love traveling. Granted, I'm not the most traveled person around, but I love being able to go to places. I love seeing new things, I love being (almost) anonymous in a sea of people who may or may not understand me. I love figuring out how a train system goes and how I can go from one place to another. The itch to travel hasn't been that big in me until I got to go to Europe last year, and ever since then, I've been thinking of other places in the world that I must see in this lifetime. There's something about being able to achieve a traveling dream that makes you want to travel again, especially while I still can. I've got a bucket list of places that I want to go to and while a part of me wonders how will I be ever able to afford all those trips, it does not stop me from dreaming.

I guess that's why Wanderlove was such a hit with me. Bria Sandoval wanted to be a global vagabond, especially after her senior year in high school spun out of control and left her lost. She signs up for the Global Vagabonds tour to Central America, thinking that she would be with people her age. But the brochure she read was wrong and she ended up being with a group of tourists that followed a too-rigid schedule for her to actually find time to rediscover herself. Then she runs into a group of backpackers -- real backpackers who go from one place to another with just the clothes and the bags on their backs -- led by dive instructor with a bad boy aura Rowan, and his humanitarian sister Starling. Bria takes the chance and joins them. It's the trip of a lifetime for Bria, and she hopes that somewhere along the way, against the backdrop of Mayan temples and Belizean islands, she finds exactly what she was looking for.

Again, I love traveling. But truth be told, traveling is kind of a cliche interest among people my age, at least from where I come from. Everyone wants to travel, because it's such a good way to spend money and to see something new. But I know that only a few of those people who has put "traveling" in their interests can actually quit their jobs, sell everything and just travel.

I know I am definitely not one of those people.

The backpackers in Wanderlove? They're the real deal.

I wasn't really expecting to love this book so much. I was just expecting to like it, but not really like it. But I was captured from page one. I loved Bria -- her doubts and uncertainties, how she pretends to be a well-seasoned traveler even if that wasn't true. I loved how different she was from the first chapter to the last, and how her fears can translate into something universal, even if I'm not an artsy person. Bria's need to escape is something everyone feels, and something that traveling can quickly fix, even if it's just for a while. I feel you, Bria. I really do.

Also: the romance. This is another one of those slow burn romances that just makes my toes curl with delight. :) While the build up to the romance didn't really span months like how it was in Flat-Out Love , it was still believable with all the time that Rowan and Bria spent together. I loved how they danced around one another, how their conversations can go from disliking each other to having a mutual understanding that led them to protect one another from people who do not understand them. There wasn't too much drama in how their relationship was built up, and I liked how it all ended, especially where it all ended. Wanderlove at its finest. :)

Finally, the setting. I think it helps that the author is also a backpacker, so the experiences and the places that the characters visited felt very real. I have to admit that Central America was never in my bucket list. After reading this book, though, I also wanted to pack my bags and go see the places they saw. Okay fine, I don't think I'll go backpack like they did anytime soon, but I so want to go where they went. Someday, someday. I'll go there. Maybe after I hit South America next year (World Youth Day 2013 is in Rio de Janiero -- wohoo!).

If you're ever one who's loved traveling, or one who's wished to travel but never got to, I recommend Wanderlove by Kristen Hubbard to you. I hope this book fills you with the same kind of love as Bria found and Rowan had, and that somehow, it also helps you find the place(s) in the world that would stick in your heart. :)

I leave you with this quote:

You got to find your own places. The places you get, girl, the ones that stick in your heart. And if you’re lucky, you find people to share them with.

Wanderlove by Kristen Hubbard will be out on March 13, 2012.

[Areeba · Rating 3 out of 5]

oh. my. GOD. guys, you ALL need to seriously get your hands on this book! like, no, really. i loved it so, so, so much i'm probably going to reread it about five times before it's released, because that's just how much i loved it.

(aaaand i'll do a full, actual review closer to the release date but for now i'll just repeat: READ. THIS. BOOK! also: ROWANNNN<3333)

[Noelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't quite sure what to expect going into Wanderlove. My brain interpreted the cover and synopsis as a fun, sun-baked coming of age story and I foresaw exotic locales and a frothy romance. And while Wanderlove certainly delivered on those expectations, it packaged them with much more emotional depth than I anticipated.

Bria, the heroine has just gotten out of a less than supportive relationship and her self-esteem is at an all time low. She's lost her passion for art and without it she feels as if she has no identity. She is focused on becoming a version of herself that has never successfully existed before and her first few attempts at it are awkward to behold. She's envying strangers of things they might not even possess, comparing herself to everyone around her and bitterly disappointed at what she sees. Bria has all of these ideals in her head of what she needs to be to be happy and really living but has no idea how to get from her point A to that point B.

Although Bria makes the huge step of deciding to go on a tour of Guatemala even after her friends drop out of the trip, she soon becomes dissatisfied with her tour group's inability to match up to her preconceived notions of world travelers. Even in paradise Bria is moping about her ex-boyfriend, being unkind to the fellow members of her tour group for having the nerve to be middle-aged, and feeling the need to exaggerate or outright lie about her traveling bona fides to feel better about herself. It doesn't work. It never does.

The first few chapters I wondered if I had stumbled into Backpackers: Mean Girls Minus the Hygiene. (That's why their hair is so big, it's full of secrets.) Bria has a chance encounter with a backpacker sibling duo Starling and Rowan and immediately senses two things: 1) These are the authentic world travelers she aches to be and 2) That she feels painfully inadequate compared to them. When the opportunity presents itself to break away from her generic tour group for a chance at unpredictable adventure with Starling and Rowan, Bria decides that here is her chance for real transformation, to truly try to become that real person instead of bristling under the potential for the rest of her life.

That is why I liked Bria from the start. Even at the beginning when she's outwardly being a fraud, she is always painfully honest in the inside. It is so easy to acknowledge that yeah, you shouldn't let other people's opinion of you dictate your happiness or self-worth but it's so much harder to actually put it into practice. Her transformation over the course of the novel is subtle and believable. I loved how being in an unfamiliar environment helped her along. Bria's matter of fact sense of humor was also a real bright spot for me.

The evolution of Bria's relationship with Rowan, a guy who is trying to make a difficult transformation of his own, is beautifully handled. They are both learning to let go of their respective fears and past and learn to trust in themselves, trust in each other and trust in the world around them. A lot of books claim their love interests are "just what each other needs" but this is the rare book that delivers on that promise.

I also really enjoyed the art aspect as well and Bria's rediscovery of her passion for it. I particularly appreciated the depictions of how much practice it takes to maintain such a passion, the intense privacy of it and the paranoia involved with others seeing your art outside of a controlled environment. Hubbard's illustrations add a lot to the story.

Besides being absolutely lovely, Hubbard's writing has a kind, good-humored quality to it directed at both her characters and the reader, from Bria's false bravado at the beginning of the novel, to my horror at Rowan's hair. (My ultimate ponytail amnesia test: the french braid.) It's like the story is being told to you by a good friend. Hubbard's descriptions of the locations Bria and Rowan visited are delightful to read. As someone who has traveled to many of the places depicted (I'm no backpacker but I have been on a broken down bus in Belize) it was a pleasure to revisit them through Hubbard's prose.

They say the unexpected adventures can be the most satisfying and that theory definitely holds true with this book.

PS. For this review one of Rowan's leg bracelets just has to be this.
PPS. To all the lovelies who participated in the ponytail referendum over here on Goodreads, I gave Rowan a hair cut just for you.

This review originally appeared on Young Adult Anonymous.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Similar Books: Falling in Love with English Boys by Melissa Jensen, Flirting in Italian by Lauren Henderson, Single Girl Abroad by Kelly Hunter


I was initially declined as a reviewer of this book on NetGalley, and I didn't understand why. Now I do. Random House knew that I would be on vacation in Charleston and force my family to take me to not one but two Barnes & Nobles on release day to get a hardback copy of this book. I was that determined to read it. And let me tell you, people - it was totally worth it!

If you love traveling or have ever been interested in traveling, you need this book. If you like coming of age stories where characters find themselves, you need this book. If you like romance of any kind, you need this book. In short, everyone should read it.

What makes this book great for me was the travel. *Le sigh* I'm a travel junkie myself, but I've never been to Central America so it was like really experiencing it. But for anyone who has traveled in a foreign country (especially a third world country), you'll recognize some classic situations. And that's what really helped me fall in love with the story - because I could so easily relate to Bria as she's experiencing all these crazy new things. The terrible public restrooms, new food, that feeling of being completely and wonderfully lost in a new language and culture.

And I liked the little bits that made it realistic - her getting seasick, being freaked out by bugs in the rain forest, her envying the lives of the well-traveled backpackers, and her carrying around a sketchbook. And speaking of the sketchbook, I loved the drawings included in the book! (And the last one! SO glad that was included!)

I found it HYSTERICAL that Bria wanted to be like the backpackers. And Hubbard described them PERFECTLY! When I've traveled abroad, we always made a game of spotting backpackers and trying to decide if they were American or European (usually the latter). They always looked grungy but in a cool way, with these giant monstrosities on their backs and bandannas around their foreheads. I'm assuming because Hubbard was a backpacker herself, she really put into words their spirit and persona, and I loved that she discussed "first world guilt," which is something that happens (and should happen!) to those of us who venture into third world territory.

Besides the travel aspect (which I could go on and on about), I enjoyed the romance a lot. Rowan isn't your stereotypical love interest. He's a really flawed, interesting character. I can now blame Hubbard for perpetuating my obsession with broken characters because both Rowan and Bria have serious issues - Bria most of all. Their relationship was slow and sweet, and I liked that they became friends first.

As for Bria, I loved that there was actual CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. She changed a lot from the beginning to the end of the story, and it was fascinating to watch her transformation. And while I thought she did some pretty dumb things, I could totally see the motivation. And she owns up to them.

And while we're talking about dumb thing, I need to get this off my chest - a lot of times when I read about these teens going off in other countries alone, I cringe. I've been traveling since the third grade, and it was pounded into my head that safety is always the first consideration. You don't do anything stupid like run off by yourself. So when I saw that Bria was trekking through Central America alone, I freaked out a little. But this issue is addressed! I feel like there's a good message here for those interested in traveling - that you have to remember the locals live like this every day, but it's also stupid for you to take unnecessary risks. Good balance here! Don't think you're going to be kidnapped at every turn like in that Liam Neeson movie "Taken," but also don't go walking down sketchy alleys alone at night.

*Hops off soapbox*

If you can't tell already, I ADORED this book. It's epic. And gorgeous. And if it doesn't make you want to travel, I don't know what will.

And just because I'm a nerd, I added a picture of one of my favorite trips: Thailand #4! (2010) Look, it's me carrying my own backpack! :)

[Cassi Haggard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wanderlove is the type of book that makes you dream. I've always wanted to backpack. ALWAYS. And it was always something I intended to get around to eventually. But I still haven't and am beginning to realize that it may never happen. The good news is I can read books like Wanderlove that make me yearn for a do-over, yet doesn't make me miserable with regret. This book is an enjoyable, happy reading experience.

This is the type of book I want to give to a teenager. Not because the characters are excellent role models or make all the right choices. I want to give them this book because I want them to learn to dream big dreams. Life isn't always about what your job is or how much money you make, it's about the little excursions and diversions along the way.

Wanderlove is not a perfect book. The main character took awhile to grow on me. She's a little meek and way too wrapped up in her ex-boyfriend for my liking. But here's the thing; Bria grows up over the course of the novel, not entirely and not unrealistically, but enough that I like her character development. The Bria at the end is smarter and more aware than the Bria at the end of the book. That's something I really like to see.

My favorite part of the books might be Bria's lists and travel tips. That's where the voice really shines and I find myself chuckling. Bria writes everything that she's too meek and bashful to say and her insights are sometimes deep and sometimes hilarious.

Global Vagabonds Rules for Third World Travel
-Don't shake hands with the locals
-Don't drink the water
-Don't touch your face after touching the water
-Don't eat street cart tamales or buy street car tamales, or approach street cards or even make eye contact with street cart vendors...

A lot of people are going to swoon over Rowan, the nice guy with a dark past, scuba instructor backpacking guy, it's just inevitable. He's a well-rounded character, believably non-perfect and surprisingly swoonworthy despite his questionable ponytail and occasional hygiene woes. (To be fair, all backpackers have hygiene problems)

This book is pleasant read, with enough depth that you'll find yourself thinking but not so heavy that you can't enjoy it poolside.

[Melissa Stacy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The 2012 YA contemporary "Wanderlove" could be subtitled "In Defense of White Privilege" or "White Middle Class Cluelessness: A Primer for Modern Racism" and readers would have a far more solid grasp of what takes place in this novel.

First-person narrator and suburban-L.A. resident Bria Sandoval is eighteen, broke up with her boyfriend senior year, and never sent in her acceptance letter to art school. Her depression over the breakup made her like, self-destruct her own life (because sadness), and then go on a nonstop whinge-fest blaming all of her problems on her middle-class parents and unsympathetic friends (because narcissism).

In search of the bragging rights of being a "third-world" traveler (yes, the novel uses this terminology -- and yes, I realize the author published this book in 2012), Bria signs up for a two-week tourist trip to Central America. The group will visit Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and some other places -- but Bria is shocked to discover she isn't traveling with other teenagers, and she ditches the middle-aged travelers who comprise this tour group shortly after she arrives in Guatemala (because ageism).

On her first day in Guatemala, Bria is in a crowded market when her bag is stolen, and a grinning white guy appears in that instant, whisks Bria away from the scene of the crime, and then informs her the Guatemalan police don't care about her stolen bag, so she shouldn't report it, and he tells her to meet him at night at a lake place. He tells her she can leave the lake place anytime, but that is a lie -- the boats stop running at six p.m. and Bria ends up trapped there with him.

This scene was sooooooo creepy and scary -- I immediately worried this white guy had been involved in the theft of her bag, and was out to do Bria harm -- but this is a YA novel, and this guy is Super Hot, so even though he lies to Bria and behaves as a villain, this Hot Backpacker Guy is the Love Interest. In the moral universe of YA fiction, the Love Interest is also the heroine's True Love (because Good Girl).

Hot Guy also has a sister who is a Manic Pixie Backpacker Girl. Her name is Starling. Starling travels around the "third-world" helping orphans (because wow, so amazing) and she is super-wealthy and like, awesomely hip. Her clothes are described in detail, and she embodies the Backpacker Chic that Bria is so envious of possessing herself.

If you believe that traveling to the "third-world" is done solely for bragging rights, and to provide a "colorful backdrop" for whingeing about First World Problems (because Hardship) -- then this is the book for you. Bria spends ten days hanging out on vacation on a small island in Belize, where she rides a bicycle around, eats ice cream, draws in her sketchbook, falls in love with her True Love, and contemplates all of her First World Problems at home.

Most of the pages of this novel focus on Bria's life in suburban L.A. -- the breakup, her loving (but not loving-enough) parents, and her friends (who she blew off once she started dating). Bria throws a lot of blame at other people. But thankfully, after ten days relaxing on vacation in Belize, she realizes that her failure to send in her acceptance letter was her own fault. Thank goodness for travel, right? So magical. Nothing like colorful scenery to help break through all those indoctrinated levels of narcissism, and help Privileged White People start to take responsibility for their own behavior. Yay for the developing world!

As Bria points out in the novel, the people who live in the "third-world" may have like, hardships in life, but Bria is adamant that it is wrong for anyone to "only have empathy for those less fortunate" (page 224). Bria's problems are "real" and just as worthy of empathy, whether from her Love Interest or from the reader (page 224).

"Wanderlove" grows increasingly ridiculous after Bria leaves Belize, and returns to Guatemala to visit Starling before flying home to L.A. The story reached an excruciating level of unreality describing Bria's method of finding Starling in Flores, Guatemala, with the kind of serendipitous deus ex machina that can only exist in poorly plotted novels.

If you enjoy wish-fulfillment books that reward their main characters for being clueless, entitled, self-absorbed, fixated on appearances, and so privileged they cannot even admit how well-off they are, then "Wanderlove" is the novel for you.

[Nafiza · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a long time ago that Cindy told me to read this book because she loves it so much (thanks Cindy). It took me a while to get around to it as it is a contemporary and I kept getting distracted by supernatural beings (those faeries, I tell you, so pesky). But, guys, seriously, this book? Is awesome. I mean, I don’t read much contemporary (okay, or I used to not read much contemporary but recent contemporary has been rocking my socks off) and the cover is not my favourite but the story inside is. Wait, let me take a breath and clear out the cobwebs in my head.

Wanderlove takes the reader of her comfort zone, plunks her in an unfamiliar country and unsettles her further by situating her in foreign language. It dares the reader to travel with the protagonist and shed all her preexisting stereotypes and classifications and to just live as deeply, to be as brave as she can. Even if she doesn’t succeed in the end, the fact that she made an effort to explore, to go beyond what she knows, that’s what’s important and THAT I believe is the message of Wanderlove.

Bria has not had an easy time of it recently so when she goes off to travel in a different country, alone, despite her friend’s disbelief that she’d actually go through with something that is so unlike her, she takes a big step, a huge step away from what is normal for her. I liked how Bria, as a character, is flawed but at the same time, she is flawed in a way that a person can empathize with and not hate. We feel her narrowness at the beginning, the unwillingness to take risks, stubbornly clinging to her preconceived notions about people and things. And we are also witnesses as she slowly changes, maturing from the person she was to the person she becomes.

I love how vividly the backpacking experience is detailed. I wonder if Hubbard made the trek herself or if this is the result of some insane researching. Either ways, it is brilliantly portrayed, down to the last detail and you can feel the heat on your skin and you can almost see the blue of the ocean. I think one of the biggest strengths of this book was the narration that served to convey the experience in all its gritty detail without descending to purple prose or relying on abstract images.

And the romance. Rowan is just as flawed as Bria and just like Bria, he is all the more compelling for it. There is something so earnest, so sincere about the way their relationship grows, develops, their courtship for lack of a better word, that you can’t help but fall in love with Rowan just as Bria does. I love it when an author spends enough time on the courtship period so that the reader can properly understand exactly why the love interest is so interesting and Hubbard does not disappoint at all in this regard.

In conclusion, my dearest Reader, Wanderlove is a book you need to check out. Even if you don’t like contemporary. Read it for the journey Bria takes, of rebirth, regeneration, of love, of a different country where the language is foreign and the people unfamiliar, read it and learn how home is more a person and less a location.

[Jasprit · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Wanderlove = Forgetting about the bad things, focusing on the good, out with the old and in with the new

Bria has been having a tough time of it lately, having just broken up with her artistic boyfriend Toby, who she was meant to go on holiday with and now her best friends have also backed out of their trip, saying that Bria still needs time to heal. When Bria receives a pamphlet advertising a holiday, she sees this as an omen and decides to make a spur of the moment decision to take the trip, also mainly to spite Toby. However things don’t end up as Bria expected, she gets stuck with a tour group, with no one even her age, until she meets Starling and Rowan who encourage her to ditch her group and backpack with them instead. Who needs a detailed itinerary, when she can spend the rest of her time travelling with two of the most experienced travellers? Even though Rowan does seem a bit secretive and seems to have a bit of a shady past. Will Bria end up having the trip of her life and can both she and Rowan finally follow the Wanderlove philosophy?

What I liked about Wanderlove;
Kirsten Hubbard’s writing was beautiful, the way she captured the places they travelled to in her writing and described it with so much detail. I also liked the drawings which were incorporated into the story; both the descriptions and pictures made the story seem even more vivid and real. It seriously gave me the travel itch!

I don’t think that there was anything which I disliked about Wanderlove just that it took me a while to get into and around this time I was going through a book slump. So my 3.5 stars is a reflection of how I felt about Wanderlove at the time of reading it, I’m sure that if I was to read it again, my rating would probably be much higher.

[Jessie Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read This Review & More Like It On My Blog!

I've luckily been on a streak of reading some very excellent novels lately (knocks on wood) and happily, Wanderlove continues the trend.

From the unforgettable characters to the lushly described scenery to the whimsical and detailed drawings (by the author herself, no less) Wanderlove is (or will be, in March) a hit. I had very few complaints and whole lot of love for this fish-out-of-water coming-of-age novel. Bria Sandoval, the main character and also someone I'd like to hang out with, is an eighteen year-old, determined, funny, artistic girl and on her own in Central America. Following a mysteriously bad and viscerally painful breakup and lack of travel commitment from her "friends", Bria solely sets out on an unexpected and revealing journey. Escaping her ex-boyfriend/her hostile home life/her unreliable friends for freedom and change, Bria is a wonderfully flawed and complex young woman.

Bria was fun to read. She didn't annoy me with her idiosyncrasies (in fact they felt genuine and part of her intrinsically quirky personality), and she didn't act too perfect either. Though there is minimal information provided about Bria and her life, hints are slowly doled out throughout the novel, building a less than picturesque home life. I appreciate the restraint of Ms. Hubbard's slow revelation, which allowed both my curiosity and empathy for the character to build naturally.

In experiences ranging from comical to hysterical to kinda gross, Bria emerges as the type of girl most young women want to be: capable, talented, smart and self-aware. Not to say that she is irritatingly perfect; the typical teenage disillusion with responsibility is obvious, along with a quick and agile temper. Bria's flaws only serve to make her a more complete character, and I liked her all the more for her rough edges.

In her diverse travels, Bria meets up with the two most important characters of her experience down south: Rowan and Starling. From their slightly-off names to their wonderfully unique attitudes, the laid-back Ro and Star were a nice foil for the more straight-laced California girl. While their introduction to the novel's storyline and motivation for being around Bria aren't completely believable, both were dynamic, different and interesting characters. Clearly Rowan, as the tortured-by-his-past bad boy love interest was featured more prominently than his la vie boheme half-sister, but the relationship between the two struck the right chord between caring and overbearing older sibling.

Rowan himself, though I liked him and found him appealing for the most part, overdoes the whole "bad guy with mysterious, off-limits past." His extended "mysterious aura" part was too withholding for my own preferences. Which is a shame, because the other aspects of the character were ones I loved (his hidden kindness, protectiveness, love for water, etc.) The whole "secret" was dragged out a bit too long, and caused my opinion of the boy to decline somewhat. I focused more on the obvious negative than the positives exhibited in the character as the novel went. I did like how the revelation about Rowan was handled - quietly, and maturely before the real problem was revealed.

The setting - or more correctly, the settings, for there are several differing locales - were all popping with vibrancy and life in Hubbard's easy-to-fall-into prose. I loved that a destination novel was not about Europe, or even Africa, but rather the neglected and ignored Central American region. Belize, Laughingbird Caye, Guatemala - all were important (and not cliche!) and different locales featured in this half-novel half-travel guide. (It's not really like a travel guide, but no other book has had me longing for a Belizean/Central American vacation like this one did!) The scenery and life of the islands/countries absolutely popped with life and color; Hubbard's history as a travel writer is apparent and wonderfully fills the novel with the genuine minutiae and attitudes of true travelers.

The drawings/sketches and the settings were among the top reasons I loved this novel so much. It's an easy novel to sink into; the atmosphere is enveloping and total for the whole period of Bria's explorations.

This is well-written, interesting and unique novel. I loved most of it, want to read it again, and also fully plan to pimp it out to friends and family. My minor issues were just that -minor. This is a novel where so much is done so wonderfully, I cannot wait to read another book by this impressive author. I think that in March, when this is officially released, it will be another must-read hit along the lines of the author's Like Mandarin.

[shady boots · Rating 5 out of 5]

A similar review is now available on my blog. Check it out!

______________________________________________


Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte BFYR for sending me this ARC!

This was the first travel/road trip YA book I've ever read, and I'm so glad I wasn't disappointed! <3

I delved right into this book. It felt like I was there, in all those places. Reading it all made me want to start travelling myself, even though I'm not an outdoorsy person whatsoever.

And the characters, I loved Bria. And Rowan! <3 Gah! Their romance was decently slow-paced, just the way I like it. :D

And the art!!! I wanted to eat all those butterflies on the pages... Okay, that sounds kind of gross. o_o But you know what I mean! xD The butterflies were so purrrdy, and all the other drawings in the book were pure awesomeness as well.

I'm so going to buy this when it comes out! It was such a fun and refreshing read.

[Pragya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow - not really about the book but about the fact that I finally finished a book. Recently I have been in a phase where I keep itching to start a lot of books but none gets finished. So this was a marvel. And it does have to say a lot about the book too.

As always I never read a book blurb. Some random quirk of mine. I want to unravel the book without knowing anything about it. And it really worked for this one. Mmm, I am still reeling with the aftertaste, salty like the ocean but sweet like a drink.

A beautifully penned down book, some lines are really well written and thought-provoking. But what I loved the most was the concept of the book. So fresh, new and interesting. It was like I was on a different kind of a journey myself. A beautiful journey you tend to get lost in.

I don't know what more to say without revealing anything about the book. I loved all the sketches in the book. Wished there were more, though. :)

The book has it all, there are funny lines to make you laugh, the serious bit too, and some deeply profound lessons stated with such simplicity that you don't feel like you are being lectured because you understand the reality and appropriateness of it all. Am I making any sense? I don't know. But the book does.

And the most wonderful part of the book, it all feels real. Nothing is bookish or made-up or fantasized, it's all, you know like, it can happen to anybody. I guess the reality also comes from the author who sketches and backpacks and knows all about places, so she has put so much of herself into the book, it's like you are there with the characters who, by the way, are very well defined and you know them, up close.

Wanderlove, do you know what it means? You will know when you read the book, the meaning is beautiful and apt. What a great word to coin.

I think you really have to read the book to know what it's about and why it is so fascinatingly beautiful.

There are some lovely lines that make me shiver from inside (in a good way), like-

"I recall the rasp of charcoal on newsprint, the chewing-gum stretch of a kneaded eraser, the precarious bite of a razor blade in a new pencil. The vibrancy of fresh watercolors squeezed from a tube. A new sketchbook, cracked open to flawless white. The way the smell of turpentine made me feel simultaneously sick and excited."

And did you know the difference between envy and jealousy? I didn't. Here it is-

"Envy is when you want what someone else has. Jealousy’s when you also don’t want them to have it."

Some more beauty-

"Hearing about vacations is like hearing about dreams — no one cares except the person who’s experienced them. Without tastes and scents and context, they’re meaningless."

"What you love the most is what you have to fi ght the hardest to keep.”


You want me to make it short and sweet? Simple, go read the book!

[~Tina~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wanderlove starts the story off with Bria, who has been told by her best friends that it's really not a good time for her to travel while her ex-boyfriend told her that she's just not the type to go out and do it.
So, naturally Bria does what anyone would do.
Prove them wrong.
Only when she gets to Guatemala she realizes that she's on the wrong tour and doesn't want to be so restricted. So when she meets a bunch of backpackers that invite her along she figures out that this may be the only chance she'll get to really live.

This book surprised me in one of the best way possible. It combines my two favorite things, art and travel. I'm not an artist in any shape or form but I love it. Appreciate it. I've never traveled but it's not for the lack of wanting to, just never had the opportunity, which this book cleverly points out that not everyone gets that far, but at least I got to see it through Bria's eye. I was very much impressed with the writing, it's strong and intelligent. It made me feel to much.

Bria is a really great character. When her boyfriend Toby breaks up with her she's left broken, confused and lost.
She stopped doing her art, her one true passion and even changed her whole life perspective. It took some serious guts for her to go out there and do it on her own. It's such a different world out there and while I would never be brave enough, it was really cool to see a character try to define herself, find a better version and come out stronger. Kudos.
As for Rowan? What's not to like? Here's a guy who's totally free spirited, lives his life by backpacking it place to place. He lives by his own guidelines which are wise and insightful. He makes you think about life and not just yours but how he sees it. The things he says really has a way of effecting you. Very deed, very meaningful. He's sincerely one of the most interesting characters I've ever read.
They each have baggage but it was really great to see them letting down their guard long enough for them to see the real person. It wasn't all instantaneous either. It was just a sweet friendship that has you hoping for more as the story unfolds.

Bottom line, I really enjoyed myself with this book, more then I thought I would actually and I'm glad that I gave this one a shot. Great characters, fantastic surrounding's and the writing was remarkable. The 'Rowan's travel rules' and all the drawings were the perfect touch. This was a fun filled adventure, light and entertaining that I definitely recommend.
It makes me want to run away from home and become a backpacker.
Well. Maybe.

Arc provided by Netgalley

[Caitlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eurgh. I HATED this book. I actually didn't even finish it, which MAY be unfair for a review, so I might go back and struggle through (yes struggle) the rest just to see if it improves at all.

I just couldn't finish it. I liked the concept of this book, but I just hated the characters and everything that happened in it. I didn't care for Bria at all, and I also hated Rowan. I just found Bria completely unlikable, naive, and childish. I found the "romance" with Rowan completely contrived and didn't believe for a second why they would be together. The only character I liked was Starling, but she disappeared half way through). I hated that Bria went on this journey to prove her ex-boyfriend wrong, and instead of focusing on self discovery and exploring this world on her own, she becomes completely dependent on the first guy she meets (because he's hot, of course, why else?) and spends the rest of the trip following him around. Yay, independence ._. I would've loved this book WAY more had she had have focused more on being with and discovering herself. I found the tour group she was with more fascinating than the backpackers she headed off with and wish she had stuck with them. I loved the idea of her learning about life from these "old boring people" who may actually turn out to teach her a hell of a lot about life and love.

As I said, I might finish it just to see what happens at the end, but I got about 2/3rds of the way through and literally had to stop because I just wasn't enjoying it. :/

[Alaina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bria kept annoying me throughout the book.. but then some times I would like her. It was a roller coaster ride with her.

Wanderlove was definitely a book I read for a specific challenge. However, I found it kind of interesting - well the synopsis. Then when I met 18 year old Bria, the MC, I was a bit intrigued by her. It was interesting that she was going on this adventure by herself. It sucks that her friends backed out at the last minute but I was definitely thinking that this would be good for her in the end.

Throughout the book, I was definitely on a see-saw because I couldn't figure out if I liked or disliked Bria. In the end, I didn't really like her. Whether it was her attitude towards things or her being whiny about others. I also didn't really understand why she was going on this trip just cause her ex said she wouldn't go without him? Didn't really seem like it was worth it just to prove that douche wrong.

Overall, I feel like I have already been to Guatemala because of Bria's awful experience. And by awful.. I mean my experience about read hers. It just seemed so pointless and I was disappointed with each page that my eyes laid on. I was so happy to be done with this book that I have no other words.

[Hazelrose Tiongson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Screw that sloppy title. But oh my god, the amount of joy, giddiness, I felt whilst reading this book is ...... just wow. Author is so on-point about all these travel bug feels. Traveling+ good romance + Belize, Honduras, Caribbean setting etc. + very realistic characters = PERFECTION.

One of the most favorite reads for this year. ❤️

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kristen Hubbard
Wanderlove
Gramedia Pustaka Utama
456 halaman
7.3

Saya selalu suka novel perjalanan, dan Wanderlove ini salah satu yang paling menarik karena mengambil setting Guatemala dan Belize, karakter utama yang lucu, dan ilustrasi serta catatan yang bagus. Sayangnya, konflik-nya terasa vague dan mengawang-awang buat saya.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edit: I've finally put an order on this book in Amazon! I get to hold it and flip through its tattered pages and smell its book smell soon!

This review also appears on my blog.

There needs to be a destination, even if it's way off in the haze of my unlived life. And in that life, I'd like to be an artist.

I have a headache from reading this book. I think this is one of the few times where I'm pleased, despite the pounding in my head.

I honestly didn't expect the impact this story would leave on me. Maybe a few iguanas, some rain forest talk, barracudas...But Hubbard managed to make this into something profound. She brought the eternal problem of discovering yourself to South America, and in the process, she made something beautiful.

To begin with, the main character, Bria, has incredible character development. Over the course of her stay in various places of the wilderness, she develops her own independence and confidence in fighting for what she loves. Of course, she is pretty pitiful in the beginning, but I found it adorable instead of irritating. She has a voice that's completely sincere. As a teenager, I can completely sympathize with the way she feels: torn between places. Her connection to her art reminded me of how much I love my own writing and the possessiveness that comes with our own personal creations. Also, I loved the little pieces that Hubbard would slip in that made Bria so much more believable. For example, there's this one part when she's trying to put on her summer dress in front of Rowan and two other girls and gets stuck before she can get it all the way on. It's stuff like that that makes me believe that the author really has gotten into the mindset of the characters she's writing and knows that it's not just pretty words that makes a story: it's voice. And I'm happy to say that Bria's is an especially enjoyable one to read.

Onto Rowan. Damn, does he sound like a delicious piece of man meat. Despite his ponytail. Ha. I loved that he had his own problems, and that his bad boy past hadn't turned him into some dark poetry-reciting maniac (It has happened in other books. I would know.). Throughout the story, he comes off as someone truly likable and sweet, with a big heart and secrets of his own that he won't share unless the right person comes along. I loved tracking how he changes and opens himself to Bria throughout the novel, and I'm thankful that Hubbard never made their love story easy. Caution: whenever Rowan and Bria seem to be getting along better, don't get your hopes up. Something, be it Scandinavian giants or seasickness, will probably mess it up. Those who've read this book know what I'm talking about. But it all comes down to the issue of trusting someone else, not just with your safety, but with who you really are. That's why those who are sick of insta-love and unrealistic characters should read this book. There are real discoveries of what it means to exist in this world, and what it takes to step out of the comfort zone and pursue dreams that are actually worthwhile.

Not only do we have a hilarious, lovable, and begrudging travel couple, we have the beautiful backdrop of South America and the Caribbean. After all this, I have a hankering to visit there. Although I would never backpack. It sounds brutal, and I like comfortable hotels. Yup. Anyway, the way Hubbard describes the seas and brilliant sunsets are so vivid, it makes me yearn to be able to experience it once in my life, too. The drawings that were included were a lovely addition, especially the last couple ones, which let me visualize what kinds of people Starling, Rowan, and Bria are. I'm actually considering buying this book, which is big, since I'm pretty stingy in buying books because I think I won't ever read them again.

In truth, I don't think any review I write can do this book justice. You'd have to read it to know why I love it so much. Just like Bria observes that people can't understand the beauty of travel unless they've done it themselves.

READ THIS BOOK. If you don't like it (which is doubtful), at the very least you won't have felt like you lost brain cells in the end.

[Trisha Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kirsten Hubbard made a fan out of me with her debut, “Like Mandarin”, which took the relationship between two girls and exposed the intricacies of female friendship – be it as teenagers or adults – with a deftness and sincerity that took my breath away. In “Wanderlove” she lays bare a different kind of love and experience with the same insightful, personal brush.

Bria discovers the world of backpacking, a place the author clearly loves dearly, much the same way the majority of readers would experience it – as a novice. She asks the embarrassing questions, wears the wrong clothes, and generally feels like she sticks out like a sore thumb. Creating a character who enters this world accidentally and without any preparation helps us readers dip our toes in slowly too, and damn if I didn’t want to put the book down at least half a dozen times to book a plane ticket.

Yes, Kirsten’s feel for and descriptions of Central America are lovely and vibrant. I want to go there. I want to stuff clothes for 2 weeks in a bag and not talk to a soul except the ones beside me, to take pictures and learn history and breathe earnestness and beauty.

That is a wonderful side effect of “Wanderlove”, but it is not the book’s heart and soul.

Instead of the complex love between girlfriends (as with “Like Mandarin”) or even romantic love between a boy and a girl (which is present – and totally swoonworthy - in “Wanderlove”), the book is about figuring out how to love yourself. Bria is coming out of her first serious relationship, which while not outwardly abusive, left her a bruised shell of the girl she had been. She’s an artist, but somewhere along the way, she let him take that away from her too. She goes to Central America to do something, to prove to her ex that she doesn’t need him to be successful, but mostly to run away from all of the decisions she doesn’t want to face, all of the future realities that aren’t as rosy as she once believed they could be.

Bria pictures the trip as exciting, something out of a travel brochure, but what she finds is a bunch of middle-aged folks being herded from one place to another with no room for exploration, no place to expand and grow.
Then she meets Rowan and his sister Starling, experienced backpackers, wanderers, runners from pasts, who invite her along for a week and a half of unsupervised travel and freedom.

Along the road from Guatemala to Belize, Bria and Rowan get to know one another, discover that not talking about the past doesn’t make it go away, and yes, fall in love.

Bria is a fantastic character. We all hide things, ignore them and pretend they’ve gone away while instead they just fester, or believe that the only way to protect ourselves is not to care about anyone or anything ever again. What she learns is a lesson that it takes some people a lifetime to understand – that we can’t run from who we are, and embracing the pain and the beauty of our experiences is the only way to move forward. Rowan, a boy also searching for redemption, for the strength to be a better human being, for a place to call home, is the perfect compliment. Starling is a deeply developed secondary character. She’s so clear in my mind, so perfectly formed. I would read another volume with her in the leading role.

I adore this book. I’m sure I’ll read it again and again. Kirsten has knocked it out of the park with “Wanderlove,” which is even better than her debut and leaves me breathless in anticipation of what she’ll offer up next.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever thought about travelling to Central America?
Dreamt about the possibility to see the beauty of Guatemala and Belize?



This is a travel book about Bria who signs up for a guided tour of Central America, but ends up ditching her group to join the devoted backpacker Rowan and his sister Starling.
After being stuck in an unhealthy relationship and giving up Art, the thing she loves the most, this trip is supposed to be the key to self-discovery.

Rowan's second travel rule: The best way to escape the past is to keep moving forward.

In the course of their trip, Bria has to decide whether moving forward is also her way of dealing with her past or if she has to start looking back to fall for someone worthwhile.



I loved this book! I liked both Bria and Rowan. I liked how the lovestory was only a sub-plot. I liked the setting, the background-story and the way this book spreads both nostalgia and happiness.

Kirsten Hubbard has created a fun summer read with a certain depth that'll make you want to pick up your backpack and travel the moment you've finished this book. She describes the places so vividely that you can feel on every page that Hubbard was a backpacker herself.
Her writing will evoke memories of your last trip and the drawings and little lists in the book will leave you with a smile on your face.

Have I ever thought about travelling to Central America before reading this book?
No, but it suddenly sounds like a pretty good idea.

Btw, you really want to watch Ariel's review on Wanderlove: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eQa3...

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure Kirsten Hubbard's higher purpose in life is to keep me humble.

No, scratch that - her higher purpose is (among other things, obviously) to create beautiful, beautiful stories, and by default it keeps me humble. Because I never cease to be amazed at her gorgeous prose, her living breathing 3-dimensional characters, and her fascinating settings. I was blown away by LIKE MANDARIN, and I was equally blown away by WANDERLOVE.

Rowan is swoonworthy without being a perfect cardboard boy. Bria is so real that I found myself wondering if Kirsten had someone plucked my eighteen-year-old self out of my soul and put it into her book. And the settings, oh God, the settings - Honduras and Guatemala and Belize and Mexico - so amazing you have to fight the urge to shut off your internet and buy a one-way ticket to Latin America ASAP.

Read this book. Burn a mental note into your brain so that you remember to buy it as soon as it comes out.

And I'm truly, truly sorry for having tantalized you with a book you cannot purchase for two years. But I couldn't help it.